If you really wanted to mess me up, you should have gotten to me before Rout 66.

This list is arbitrary and I'm sure many will disagree.  I'd love to see ammendments and suggestions, but also stories.  Texas losses are like JFK's death.  I always know where I was.  I'm sure you do to.  Also, for the first half of the Mack Brown era, I was in college (read:  had a drinking problem, particularly on Saturdays).  Any additional details for the late 90's games would be greatly appreciated.  I don't live in Austin anymore, and haven't been to a game in years, so any additional info from people that were at games would be greatly appreciated. 

I think this is probably a better discussion topic than Top 10 Games of the Mack Brown Era was.  That is the nature of Texas fans (Although no video in this one, I wouldn't do that to ya).  Okies, Aggies, and others will call it whining, to be sure.  I call it a palate that is honed to savor every note of sorrow.  So, without further ado, My Desert Island All Time Top 10 Worst Losses of the Mack Brown Era.

10.  1999 NCST 23, Texas 20

In the 10 spot comes North Carolina State.  And does DeLoss know us or what?  You can actually buy the DVD of this game from Texas Athletics for $50.  I mean, who wouldn't want to watch NCST return a blocked punt 35 yards for the game winning TD with only 3:06 remaining? 

Why it makes the list:  Season opener, still the only one Mack has lost at Texas.  We were ranked 17th, coming off of the high of Ricky's game vs A&M, thrashing Mississippi State in the Cotton, Major back for year two, the #1 recruiting class in the nation, and we lose in AUGUST.

9.  1998 Texas Tech 42, Texas 35

At number 9, we have the first Red Raider appearance on the list.  Riding high after winning 6 straight, Mack's inaugural team headed into the desert.  A shootout ensued.  When the dust cleared, Tech's Ricky Williams outrushed our own Ricky 148-141.  After Texas tied the game with 2:18 to play, Tech drove 82 yards and scored the winning touchdown with :25 left on a 3 yard Rob Peters run.

Why it makes the list:  Winning this game would have set Texas up for a Big 12 South deciding game at home against A&M.  After getting drubbed early in the year by KState and UCLA (both Top 10 teams), Texas had won every game since.  Also set the precedent for subsequent upset losses at Tech in 2002 and 2008 (more on those games later).

8. 2003 Arkansas 38, Texas 28

Matt f-ing Jones.  The future Jags WR torched Texas for 124 on the ground, 139 on the ground in the game that signaled the beginning of the end for Chance Mock.  To me, this will always be "The game that Vince didn't play".  Any criticism of Mack not playing freshmen starts here for me.  Vince's line from the previous week's 66-7 drubbing of New Mexico St. was as follows:  5 car., 61 yds, 2 TD's, 1-1 passing, 60 yds.  And he played not a down against Arkansas.  The back breaker came in the 4th quarter:  on 3rd and 1, from their own 39 Arkansas had a 35-28 lead.  Matt Jones breaks a 60 yard run to the Texas 1 yard line, setting up a FG, and effectively ending the Horns' chances. 

Why it makes the list:  Ranked #6 in the country, Texas looked every bit of it the week before.  UNRANKED Arkansas came into DKRTMS and whipped our ass.  3 fumbles by the Horns = 3 turnovers.  Mack's list of home losses to unranked teams is a short one:  3 games.  Spoiler Alert:  All 3 are on this list.

7. 2000 Stanford 27, Texas 24

A week after losing to SAN JOSE ST., Stanford did the unthinkable, beating the Horns 27-24 on a DeRonnie Pitts touchdown reception with 1:12 to play.  Chris Lewis, Stanford's backup QB (we knocked their starter out in the 1st Quarter), was 12-33, but threw 3 TD's against 0 INT's for the Cardinal.  MBTF doesn't have a recap, but Stanford's site does.

Why it makes the list:  I still don't understand this loss.  This was a Stoopsing of a night road game if ever there was one.  Applewhite struggled and the Texas offense managed only 1 TD through the first 50 minutes of play.  This against a defense that had given up 40 points the previous week to San Jose St.  As a Top 5 team, during the Mack Brown era, there have been a total of 3 loses to unranked teams:  All 3 are on this list.

6. 2002 Texas Tech 42, Texas 38

Texas came into this game ranked 4th in the AP, needing another Oklahoma loss (which would come in Bedlam) after Reggie McNeal went all "only great game of his career" on the Sooners.  At the time, Texas was in the thick of the National Title race (although the title was eventually between undefeated Miami and Ohio State).  Kliff Kingsbury threw for 473 yards and 6 TD's as Tech pulled the upset.  Taurean Henderson scored the go ahead TD with 5:41 to play in the 4th.  On the ensuing drive's first play, Chris Simms threw an INT to Ryan Aycock.  Tech then proceeded to run off the remaining 5 and a half minutes to seal the victory.

Why it makes the list:  Here's a fun little stat during Mack's tenure at Texas:

Mack Brown against unranked conference foes (non-Tech variety):  45-3 or 93.75%

Mack Brown against unranked Tech:  6-2 or 75%

This one hurts because it was the culmination of a disappointing 2002 season.  Pre-season #3. That '02 Team was STACKED.  Talent all over the place.  Roy Williams, Derrick Johnson, Cedric Benson, Nathan Vasher, Cory Redding, and that's only the super duper badasses.  Excepting 2005, this was the most talent on a Texas roster during the Mack Brown era.  And it wasn't a particularly great Tech team either.  They were 7-4 at the time, and one week away from getting shellacked 60-15 @ OU (sound familiar?).  I'm sure that I'm biased because my brother-in-law went to Tech, but damn. 

5. 2007 Kansas State 41, Texas 21

We all knew this team was flawed.  The 2007 Horns showed that during the non-con slate, with games that were entirely too close against Arkansas St. (at least we're not Aggies and pulled out the W), @ Central Florida, and pulling away late against TCU.  We didn't know how flawed until KState came to town.  Everyone was eager to avenge the brutal 2006 loss in Manhattan (more on this later, in case you hadn't figured that out yet) but the Horns trailed 24-14 at the half.  Jamaal Charles pulled Texas to within a FG early in the 3rd, but a Jordy Nelson (shudder and post idea:  all SOB team aka guys who played disproportionately well against Texas.  I've already got the skill positions filled) 89 yard punt return put this one effectively out of reach.

Why it makes the list:  Texas came into the game #7 (although we all knew that was high) against unranked Kansas State.  We had all the motivation in the world to kick the crap out of this team, and laid an egg.  2 special teams TD's allowed.  An INT return for TD.  Add it all up, and it was the largest margin of victory in a home loss during the Mack Brown era.  And this is #5!  Going to need a drink to keep reading, people.

4. (tie) 2006 KState 45, Texas 42 and 2006 A&M 12, Texas 7

I know.  And I agree.  Its a cop-out.  But which one was worse, really?  Losing Colt on the opening drive, or watching his head slosh around against the Agros?  These two games are inseparable in my mind, because they combined to form the 3rd of 4 total losing streaks during the Mack Brown era (curiously, KState is involved in 3 of the 4).  I'll spare you the recap, as you can read PB's recaps of both games here and here.  Especially after the A&M one, PB was bitter.  We all were.  From Greg Davis calling a QB sneak, to Ron Prince channeling 2000 Bob Stoops, to the Limas touchdown that got called back, to Kellen Heard's bitch ass, these two games combined to ruin November of 2006.

Why it makes the list:    Texas went from Title contender to Alamo Bowl in 2 weeks. 

3. 2001 Colorado 39, Texas 37

When Applewhite relieved Chris Simms in the 2nd Quarter and immediately threw a 79 yard TD to BJ Johnson, I thought we were about to witness a fitting end to a great career.  I jumped off of my barstool and started talking shit.  I'll admit it.  Applewhite could make you feel like anything was possible.  But Major came in just a little too late, and a Colorado team that had lost to the Horns earlier in the year 41-7 managed to hang on to win 39-37 behind Chris Brown's 189 yards rushing and 3 TD's.  Simms' numbers read look like a snuff film:  9-17, 130 yds, 3 INT's.  With all that happened around the nation, Texas was effectively playing for a title shot, and was heavily favored to boot.  The only silver lining in this loss was that it, in all likelihood, prevented Texas from running into the 2001 Miami team that violated Nebraska for the national title. 

Why it makes the list:  There was never any doubt about this one making the top 5.  The 2005 Big 12 Title Game beating mitigated the resentment that I felt for Colorado somewhat, but this one still stings.  This game above all others I hold against Chris Simms.  We actually would have been better off if he'd just taken the snap and curled up in the fetal position for a half.  I still say he should have been the game MVP for Colorado.  Yes, its been 8 years and I'm still pissed.  What of it?  This post has, quite frankly, turned me into a diagreable, irrational, and for some reason paranoid person.  I feel like Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory.  I'm seeing links between losses where none exist.  Only two more to go...

2. 2008 Texas Tech 39, Texas 33

Michael Crabtree will forever haunt my dreams.  Cost Texas a MNC shot.  One play.  And not just one play.  Any one of several plays, and this one turns out differently.  But instead, we get the iconic game of 2008, a replay that we'll get to see for the rest of our lives, and a now irrelevant 45-35 victory over the Sooners.

Why it makes the list:  Really? 

1. 2000-2004 OU More, Texas Less

I'm not going to give you the scores.  The link is only to the Historical Results page of MBTF.  They're all in there.  Every soul crushing, October deflating, season ending, Big 12 costing loss.  Quentin Griffin.  Roy Williams Superman.  Every bounce (seriously, how many times has OU fumbled and then they recover it for a TD?  Is that just me, because it seems like it happens every damn year) goes the Sooners way.  For 5 long years, we wandered in the wilderness, until a prophet led us out.


 

Why it makes the list:  I combined them all.  I can't say that one hurt worse than the others.  In fact, they all just combined to put the "can't beat OU" monkey on our collective backs for half a decade.  The current "can't win it all without VY" monkey is much more personable.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that the cumulative effect of these consecutive losses was much greater than any individual loss could be.  Many of us questioned if we'd EVER beat OU again.  These losses shaped the national perception of Texas football until VY washed it away in '05.  And that's why they're the worst loss of the Mack Brown era.

So...that's it.  I'm going to go cry in the shower now.